Rumor of the Day: A Man of Steel hit could delay the Batman reboot

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is DC’s next big tentpole, and with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy over, it has a lot of pressure to do gangbusters at the box office. But if the new version of Superman is a massive hit, could it delay a new Batman film until almost 2020?

With the proposed Justice League movie on life support and reportedly in need of a massive rewrite, Batman On Film is reporting a rumor that DC and Warner Bros. could delay plans to reboot Batman if Man of Steel performs well at the box office.

Fandom is tentative at best when it comes to the Justice League movie, still scarred by the cartoony awfulness of 2011’s Green Lantern. The studio was able to milk the Dark Knight trilogy for eight years, and if Man of Steel performs well, they’re hoping for a repeat franchise to keep things rolling. If the plan works, it’d allow the good side of a decade as breathing room between Nolan’s trilogy and a future reboot.

A quick turnaround worked out well for Columbia Pictures and Marvel with the Amazing Spider-Man reboot, but it was a risky move coming so soon after San Raimi’s trilogy. No one at DC wants to risk pushing out a new Batman film too soon.

One other concern, which is obviously exacerbated by the apparent terribleness of the proposed Justice League script, is that a bad League film could taint the Batman franchise for the future—plucking the feathers off DC’s golden goose.

Here’s what Batman On Film’s tipster had to say about the whole deal:

“Don’t worry about the Batman [film] franchise, it’s [Warner Bros.’] most valuable [DC Comics-based] asset. I believe that they are now looking at introducing [the rebooted] Batman in a solo film, though that will likely take place later than they initially had planned. They are extremely worried how a [the Batman film franchise] would be affected if Justice League bombs...and rightfully so.

The fact that what should be the core fanbase of a Justice League film isn't on board is making them sweat as well ... Under that scenario [Man of Steel being a hit], I’d say around 2019 or so [before a new Batman film is released].”

How would you like to see all this play out? What does DC need to do to get its house in order?